Poroshenko: No Russians should be among UN peacekeepers in Donbas

Ukraine stands ready for a substantive conversation with the UN Security Council members regarding the deployment of a UN peacekeeping mission in Donbas, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said.

"First, we favor the deployment of a full-scale UN peacekeeping mission in Donbas. Its purpose should be not to perpetuate the Russian occupation and legalize the Russian military presence but ensure durable peace in certain districts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine and fully restore our state's territorial integrity," Poroshenko said in an annual address at the Verkhovna Rada on Thursday.

Second, a future UN mission should be deployed over the whole of Donbas territory not currently controlled by Kyiv, including the uncontrolled section of the Ukrainian-Russian border, he said.

"Third, the abovementioned mission should comply with the guiding principles of UN peacekeeping operations, which a priori rule out participation of an aggressor country and a party to the conflict in it," he said.